


The Great Gansey

by JennaTalbot



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Fluff, Gen, It's really only shippy if you squint, Movie Night, OT5 Friendship, the gangsey, they all just love each other - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-22
Updated: 2018-05-22
Packaged: 2019-05-10 06:56:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14732096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JennaTalbot/pseuds/JennaTalbot
Summary: Grab your blanket, it’s movie night at Monmouth Manufacturing and through some twist of fate, Blue and Ronan got to pick the movie





	The Great Gansey

Movie night had been Blue’s idea. 

“This is what ordinary friends do! Not dig through magical underground caves and forests looking for some dead king who grants wishes!”

Gansey had looked affronted at this oversimplification, but Noah had immediately lit up at the idea, more solid than he had been in recent memory. Ronan had nodded after verifying that he could help choose the movie. Adam had hesitated for a moment, before looking at the grin on Ronan’s face and nodding his consent as well.

Which was how Gansey ended up buying the 90 inch flat screen that was now sitting against the wall in the main room of Monmouth. 

Adam had gaped at it when he first entered, and Noah had whistled. Blue had a curious look on her face that Gansey couldn’t read, but only Ronan looked entirely unaffected. Gansey supposed that being able to dream entire worlds and identical Camaros and living ravens would do that to you. 

Blue seemed to regain her voice first. “Well, we know where we’re going to watch, but how are we going to watch?”

“What do you mean?” Noah asked, confused by her question. 

Blue gestured around as if her meaning was obvious. “I mean, I guess we could all squeeze onto Gansey’s bed, but it’ll be tight and I’m not sure I like all of you all that much.” The humor in her tone was clear, but she raised a good point.

In the end, Adam and Ronan pushed Noah’s unused bed out and against Gansey’s, while Gansey and Blue moved the couch around the model of Henrietta, forming one mega bed in the middle of the room. Noah drifted around and gathered all the pillows and blankets he could find save for the ones in Ronan’s room. Noah wasn’t sure he wanted to touch those. 

Once everything was in place, Blue nodded her satisfaction. She hadn’t trusted any of the boys to do the movie night snack shopping, so she had done it herself. She had seen how Ronan shopped—swiping random objects off of the shelf and into his cart as if they offended him somehow, without even paying attention to what they were. She didn’t trust Adam to be willing to spend enough money to get the appropriate amount of snacks they required. Noah was more likely to spend any money he was given on snowglobes, or one of those goose statues that people dress up for holidays, and Gansey… well, Blue wasn’t sure what kind of snacks Gansey would have come up with, but she was not willing to risk spending an evening with mint leaves and caviar or something equally weird. 

She picked up the bags she had brought with her, and dumped the assortment of chips, pretzels, carrots, and popcorn out onto their newly formed mega bed. 

“Now,” she proclaimed with a grand sweep of her arms, “We can begin.”

“Carrots?” Ronan asked, one eyebrow raised.

“They’re healthy, Lynch. Normal people are supposed to eat vegetables once in a while,” she retorted. 

“What are we watching?” Adam had sunk down onto the couch portion of their created bed and was looking at Blue.

“Shut your damn mouth, Sargent,” Ronan growled as Blue opened her mouth to answer. But his eyes were bright and he was wearing a wicked grin, which took away any bite his words had.    


“Language,” Gansey muttered, but it was drowned out by Blue’s laughter. 

“I guess you’ll all just have to wait and see,” she smirked as she stuck a DVD from an unmarked case into the brand new DVD player that Gansey had purchased as well. 

“It’s not a horror movie, is it?” Noah asked worriedly from the edge of the bed. 

Blue gave him a small, sad smile. “Don’t worry Noah, it’s definitely not a horror movie.”

She and Ronan had spent forever debating on a movie, tossing around various ideas rapidfire and discarding them just as quickly. But when the movie they finally chose entered the ring, the result was an immediate win. 

Making her way back to the bed with the remote, she settled down. It started like this: Noah on the end, with Blue next to him since she was the only one who didn’t mind his cold touch for extended periods of time, and he was more likely to make it through an entire movie at her side. On the other side of Blue was Gansey, who was already sprawled out imperiously, as if he owned the place. Next to Gansey was Ronan, also already sprawled out, but in a decidedly undignified way. On the other end sat Adam, legs crossed and back straight. Chainsaw flapped down from somewhere near the ceiling and settled on Ronan’s back.

Blue hit play, and the group, sans her and Ronan, watched intently to see who was going to be able to name the movie first. 

As the black and white credits started to roll, Noah started snickering. “Oh my god, you guys fucking  _ didn’t _ .”

Ronan’s wicked grin returned, and Blue’s almost matched, falling a little short and landing somewhere near mischievous.

Adam and Gansey still watched, confused. Adam knew he had seen that pattern before but he couldn't place it... 

Then the color filtered in, and Adam left out a disbelieving laugh. “Wow.”

Gansey frowned, still staring intently at the screen, until the narration started. Instantly, he recognized the prose. “ _ The Great Gatsby _ ?”

On either side of him, Ronan and Blue dissolved into giggles and snickers, clearly finding their choice humorous. Noah joined in with his trademark snigger, and even Adam let out a laugh that was more real and less tired than any of them had heard in a long while. 

Gansey felt like he was missing out on a joke at his expense, and he said as much.

Ronan elbowed him in the side, none too gently. “Dude. You’re Gatsby.” 

“I am not!” Gansey practically yelped as he sat up, which caused another fit of giggles, and more than one snort. 

“Gansey, please,” Ronan said, voice laced with fond exasperation. “You absolutely are.”   


“It’s true,” Blue nodded, and even Adam agreed. 

“Noah?” Gansey turned his hazel eyes towards the ghost at the end of the bed, hoping for at least one ally. 

Noah raised his hands in a shrug. “Sorry dude.”

Gansey groaned and flopped backwards onto the mattress as the jazz music started up. 

They settled in, and Blue ripped open a bag of popcorn. “It could be worse, you know. You could be Tom.”

“Fuck that guy,” Adam growled, and Noah hummed in agreement. 

Ronan reached over Gansey to snag the popcorn and poured it into his mouth, spilling half of the contents onto the bed instead. 

“Alright, how  _ exactly _ am I Gatsby?” Gansey asked. 

Adam and Ronan both snorted, and Blue looked at him like he had grown another head. 

“I’ll handle this one. Gansey, you’re white and you’re rich and you’re obsessed with an impossible dream,” Ronan told him from where he was busy picking popcorn pieces up off the blankets with his tongue, swatting Chainsaw away when she tried to get a piece. 

“Plus, you both go by your last names,” Blue added.

“And they both start with a ‘G’!” Noah chimed in.

“Gatsby’s obsession is alive though,” Adam said, as Ronan offered him a fist bump of approval.

Gansey huffed, but didn’t argue. To his dismay, they all made valid points. 

Blue scoffed as Daisy gave her speech about hoping her daughter would grow up to be a beautiful fool. “As if that makes anything easier,” she muttered under her breath.

Gansey opened his mouth, but then remembered this was supposed to be fun and Blue probably wasn’t open to criticisms or social commentaries right now. He closed his mouth and reached for the unopened bag of pretzels instead.

As the eyes of T.J. Eckleburg were revealed for the first time, Noah shuddered. “That’s some ‘big brother is watching’ shit right there.”

Ronan hummed in agreement, shifting his position so he was laying on his stomach, head on his arms. “Blue, did you get anything to drink?”

“Yeah, the Cokes are in the fridge,” she responded, eyes glued to the screen as Myrtle made her debut. “Thanks for volunteering.”

Adam looked at Ronan, waiting for the inevitable response informing Blue where she could stick it, but to his surprise, Ronan huffed a sigh and got up, padding to the kitchen-bathroom-laundry room. Chainsaw let out a sharp  _ kerah _ at being disturbed before fluttering over to the desk noisily. 

Ronan returned just as  _ I Can’t Stop _ started blasting from the tv’s impressive speakers, and he set the Cokes down next to the bed, stretching out a hand to Blue.

She stared for a moment, and then grabbed it as he hauled her to her feet. They proceeded to whirl around the open space, mimicking the beat and narrowly avoiding the cardboard streets of Henrietta. After a few moments, Noah jumped up to join them, and the three danced to the rhythm. Adam bobbed his head along with them, a crooked smile fixed to his face, while Gansey took in the entire scene, eyes alight with happiness. 

When the song faded out, Blue, Ronan, and Noah settled back onto the bed, breathless. Noah pressed himself into Blue’s side, the exertion having left him slightly drained. She pressed back, relishing the coolness of his touch. 

Instead of settling back where he was, Ronan flopped down sideways, his head landing in Gansey’s lap, and his feet in Adam’s. Both boys startled, but neither complained, and Ronan stayed put. Now that he was settled, Chainsaw fluttered back over and perched on his knee, nipping at the torn fabric of his jeans. 

Blue picked up a piece of popcorn and reached over to feed her, but Ronan slapped her hand away. “Popcorn isn’t good for birds,” he scowled at her, and Blue just shrugged, dropping it on Ronan’s face instead. 

When Tom Buchanan reached out and slapped Myrtle, Adam flinched hard. Ronan picked his head up to look at him, and Gansey’s head was turned his direction as well, but Adam steadfastly ignored their questioning gazes. After a moment, Ronan settled back down, but he nudged Adam’s thigh with his foot gently. He nodded once, lightly, in an acknowledgement of the gesture, and he knew Ronan saw it.

“Gansey, you ought to throw a Gatsby party sometime,” Blue commented, attempting to diffuse the tension as best as she could as the movie continued on. 

Gansey laughed. “And who would I invite? Dead kings hardly attend parties, and there are only five of us. And only four of us can be seen regularly. That’s not much of a party.”

Noah snickered while Blue pouted. “That’s just it, Gatsby doesn’t  _ invite _ people. They just show up.”

“He invited Nick,” Adam said quietly. 

“He throws large parties, and I love large parties. They’re so  _ intimate _ ,” Blue sighed in time with the line.

“I’ve never been to an intimate large party,” Gansey muttered at the same time Ronan laughed.

And then Gatsby appeared on the screen for the first time, and Gansey did have to admit that there were a few similarities between them. But only a few. 

“Alright, Gansey as Gatsby theories, go,” Ronan said, his eyes looking up to meet Gansey’s. His grin was still pasted on his face and Gansey felt his heart flutter. 

“They say that he’s an Oxford man,” Blue started. 

Ronan made a noise in the back of his throat. “Lame, Sargent. They used that one in the movie.”   


“They said that he’s the son of a king,” Noah suggested. 

“They say he’s richer than god and twice as good looking,” Adam said. 

Blue snorted and tried again. “They say he’s immortal, and has risen from the dead.”

Gansey closed his eyes, exasperated. 

Ronan tapped his side, until Gansey opened his eyes again. 

“They say he can do anything.” 

His breath hitched in his throat, and Gansey didn’t know how to respond. 

“They say he got a bruise on his arm when he refused to share the popcorn,” Blue muttered after a moment, and Gansey relinquished his hold on the bag with a laugh, grateful for having been spared. 

“God forbid I keep a woman from her snacks,” he said with a grin. 

Blue’s only reaction was a gesture with one of her fingers that left Ronan cackling. 

“Sargent, I have taught you so well,” he wiped an imaginary tear from the corner of his eye. 

“Hey Blue?” Adam asked, voice serious.

She turned to look at him. “What’s up?”

He looked at her, and then back at the screen, and then over to Gansey. “He’s done this before, right? Please tell me he’s done this before.”

Blue shifted her gaze to the screen in time to see Nick Carraway’s house stuffed to the brim with flowers as Gatsby sat stiffly in the middle of the room. She laughed loudly, letting her head fall backwards. “Oh my god,” she gasped as Gansey’s face reddened. 

“Wait.” She said after a beat. “Does that make me  _ Daisy _ ?”

This time, it was Noah’s turn to dissolve into laughter at her incredulity, and Ronan’s wicked grin was back, only now the edges were dulled enough that it probably wouldn’t cut whoever was looking. Adam took advantage of Blue’s fuming and Ronan’s distraction to slip Chainsaw some of the popcorn that littered the bed. 

“Oh you guys pay attention, this is the best part!” Noah said suddenly, and they all turned their attention back to the tv. Gatsby was currently pulling out shirts of all colors and throwing them down to a waiting Daisy. 

“You know,” Ronan said, nudging Gansey. “I could go down the stairs and we could recreate this scene. You could throw all of those outrageous polos you own down at me.”

“They are not outrageous!” Gansey defended as Blue, Noah, and Adam all dissolved into another round of laughter. 

Gansey paused for a second, taking in the scene. He couldn’t remember the last time any of them had looked this relaxed, or this  _ happy _ . Blue, who normally wore her sharp tongue like armor was currently sprawled in a heap between him and Noah, a look of pure merriment on her face. Noah, who flickered in and out of existence, but at this moment looked as solid as he had when Gansey first met him, back before he knew what Noah was. Ronan, who was constantly coiled like a viper waiting to strike, or a spring ready to snap, who was leisurely draped over his lap. And Adam, who carried the weight of the world on his shoulders and worked harder than anyone Gansey knew, who wasn’t quite fully relaxed, but was leaning back against the arm of the couch and had tears in his eyes from laughter instead of pain. 

“Although,” Gansey continued. “I bet I do have enough of them to make it happen.”

This earned him still more laughter, and Gansey reveled in the sound. Blue clutched her sides while Adam shook his head in amusement.

Then the movie took a turn towards the serious as Daisy started crying, and the laughter died out as all eyes turned back to the screen to watch. 

“Is Gansey your real name?” Noah asked as Gatsby’s real name was revealed. 

“Yes, unfortunately,” Gansey muttered, his earlier humor gone.

“Gansey.” Ronan uttered his voice into the tension.

He looked down. “Ronan?”

“Just once.”

Gansey shook his head. “Just once what?”

“I need to hear you say it.”

“Ronan, I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about,” Gansey said, confused. 

Ronan shot a look at Blue, whose mouth formed an ‘o’ as her eyes lit up.

“Old sport!” She and Ronan both yelled in time with the dialogue. 

Gansey groaned goodnaturedly. “Absolutely not,” he said firmly. “I refuse.”

“Please,” Blue said, dragging out the end of the word and batting her eyelashes at him. From his lap, Ronan did the same, which startled a laugh out of Gansey. 

“I don’t think so,” he said. He watched Ronan’s face fall. “But maybe you’ll get lucky,” he winked.

Ronan stared at him. “Did you just  _ wink _ ?” He cackled. “Oh my god, Gansey just said something suggestive and  _ winked _ at me.”

Gansey could feel the heat on his cheeks, but the grin stayed planted on his face.   
  
“Ronan, maybe  _ you’re _ Daisy,” Adam said. His voice was neutral, but his eyes were alight with mischief. 

Ronan kicked him in the side. “You take that back.”

“Don’t boo him, he’s right,” Blue said, and Ronan tried to smack her as well, but Gansey intercepted his hand. 

“Ronan is not Daisy,” Noah commented. 

“Noah—” Blue started, but Noah continued, cutting her off. 

He waved his hand. “Obviously Glendower is Daisy.”

“Oh my god, you’re right,” Ronan said. 

Gansey put his hands up to his face and groaned again. 

Blue nudged his side. “Glendower is your impossible Daisy dream, old sport. But here’s where you’re better than Gatsby. Because unlike him, you’re going to get what you’re after.”

She met his eyes, and smiled at the shock she saw there. Ronan and Adam both hummed in agreement, and Gansey felt his heart swell with affection for his friends.

They all settled down further into the joint mattresses and cushions, exhausted but pleased, and watched in a comfortable silence. They watched as Gatsby and Daisy had their moment in the garden, and as Gatsby tried to convince Daisy to leave Tom as Adam pursed his lips. They watched as Daisy admitted that she loved Tom and Gatsby, and that she couldn’t choose between the two, while Blue’s eyes narrowed. They watched as Tom verbally tore Gatsby apart, and as Gatsby finally snapped, grabbing Tom, and looking, as Nick said, like he had killed a man. 

Ronan remembered that night at Kavinsky’s party, when Gansey-on-fire had made an appearance. It wasn’t quite the same as Gatsby’s outburst, but Ronan could see the similarities. But where Gatsby’s actions made Daisy retreat into herself, the same actions from Gansey had made Ronan come alive.  

They all collectively cringed as Gatsby’s car hit Myrtle, signaling the end of his reign and the beginning of the spiral to his ultimate demise. Gansey couldn’t help but wonder if one of these days he was going to hit his metaphorical Myrtle. Or maybe it would be a literal Myrtle with the rate at which the Pig insisted on breaking down. He shuddered a little at the thought. 

They watched as Nick and Gatsby got into their argument outside the Buchanan manor. Adam curled inwardly while Gansey cringed. The mechanics of the argument playing out on the screen were too familiar to sit comfortably with either of the boys, as Nick yelled in Gatsby’s face. But the fictitious argument died out a lot faster than either of them knew from experience to be realistic.

Blue absentmindedly grabbed Gansey’s hand as Ronan rubbed his foot in light circles around Adam’s knee, and they both relaxed imperceptibly.

“Just like you,” Blue murmured close to Gansey’s ear as Nick described Gatsby’s unfailing hope. His heart fluttered and he gave her hand a light squeeze, which she returned.

They watched as Nick told Gatsby that he was worth more than the rest, and how he recalled that it was the only compliment he had ever paid Gatsby. Every eye was glued to the screen, the knowledge of what was going to happen next only making the anticipation worse. 

They watched as the phone rang, and then as George Wilson appear next to the pool, a gun in hand. They watched as Gatsby whispered ‘Daisy’ and fell backwards into the water, as Nick tried desperately to get Gatsby to respond to him on the other end of the line. 

They were silent as Gatsby floated face down in the pool, blood swirling gently around him.

“Let’s hope I’m not really that similar to Gatsby,” Gansey murmured.

Blue’s hand tightened on his forcibly, and Ronan’s hand found his leg. Adam stretched over and placed a hand on Gansey’s shoulder. Noah just smiled sadly at the lot, not wanting his freezing touch to ruin the moment.

Nick waxed poetic about the symbolism of the green light, and then the screen faded to black, signaling the end of the movie. For a moment, no one spoke.

“Well, I’m not sure about you guys but,” Gansey paused to let out a huge yawn. “I’m pretty tired.”

With the exception of Noah, they all mumbled their agreement, but none of them made any moves to leave.

“My mom said I could stay here,” Blue said eventually, “Since it’s not a school night.”

“I live here,” Ronan and Noah both said at the same time. 

Adam shrugged. “I don’t really have anything pressing to get back to, although I do work in the morning.”

“So it’s decided then,” Gansey stated, shifting Ronan so he could lay down. Despite the words that hadn’t been spoken, they all agreed. 

Blue grabbed the remote from where it had fallen onto the floor and clicked the tv off, plunging the room into relative darkness. 

Noah grabbed the bags of snacks and took them to the kitchen. It wasn’t like he was going to sleep anyways, so he had nothing better to do than clean up after his little family. 

Back in the main room, Ronan had tried shifting and had somehow managed to kick both Adam and Gansey in the face in the process. Adam swore, swatting at where Ronan’s form lay in the darkness. Gansey just paused for a moment.

“Ronan.” He said, and his voice was hard. “If you kick anyone again, I’m kicking you out.”

Ronan started to say something, but Gansey cut him off. 

“Old sport.”     

**Author's Note:**

> Listen I only know how to write angst so this was an exercise in doing something happy for once. Let me know what you think? All comments are appreciated!


End file.
